Rock star Marilyn Manson arrives at a screening of "Final Flight of the Osiris", a CG animated short, and a party to celebrate the debut of the new video game "Enter The Matrix" at Warner Bros. Studios on February 4, 2003 in Burbank, California.

Russian Christians in Novosibirsk Block Marilyn Manson Concert

MOSCOW — Authorities in Russia’s third-largest city canceled an upcoming appearance by American shock rocker Marilyn Manson on Friday after Orthodox Christians accused the performer of peddling sexual perversity and being a threat to security. On June 11, some 400 demonstrators took to the streets of Novosibirsk to call for the cancellation of the Sunday event, and accuse Manson of being propaganda for “narcotics, sexual perversions, and insults to Christian faith,” according to a local Russian news website Tayga.info.

Manson “shouldn’t perform in Russia” because he destroyed a Bible during a previous concert in the country, Dmitry Enteo, a spokesman for Christian group God’s Will, told NBC News. “We cannot allow for something like that to happen again,” he said. The event’s organizers announced that the city authorities had declined permission for the concert, but suggested it take place a day later. Organizers rejected this, however, and instead said they planned to demonstrate against the cancellation.